The photos that told our stories in 2024

South Africans voted in national elections, miners were trapped underground and homeless people were moved from the streets of Cape Town

By GroundUp Staff

23 December 2024

As school holidays get underway, people play in the St James tidal pool in Cape Town. Photo: David Harrison.

An aerial view of the abandoned mine in Stilfontein in the in North West Province where hundreds of zama zama miners were underground. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee

Protesters gathered in Cape Town to mark the UN International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Photo: Matthew Hirsch

Heideveld residents joined a mass iftar (breaking of the fast) at Daphne court in Cape Town. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Turner Adams, a former gangster from Lavender Hill who turned his life around, died in October. Adams, seen here with his baby, spent nearly half of his 60 years in and out of prison. Photo: Brenton Geach (exclusive copyright)

Scores of homeless people were moved from outside the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town. Several homes caught alight during the eviction process. Photo: David Harrison

People gathered at the Usindiso building in Marshalltown, Johannesburg, to light candles to mark the anniversary of the fire which claimed the lives of more than 70 people. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee

An inmate at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town was one of more than 14,000 prisoners who registered to vote in the elections. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Nonkanyiso Bhulabhula trims freshly harvested dagga in in Mpondoland in the Eastern Cape, where farmers have been growing dagga for hundreds of years. Farmers say profits have dwindled since dagga has been decriminalised for private use. Photo: Lucas Nowicki

A Metrorail train derailed in Paarl, injuring 25 people. Photo: David Harrison

A woman crosses a flooded street in Siyangena in Philippi, Cape Town. Thousands of people were left displaced after heavy rains battered the Western Cape. Photo: Sandiso Phaliso

Siya Thabani stands in what used to be his bedroom, holding his ID. At least nine people were killed after a storm hit oThongati in KwaZulu-Natal. Photo: Joseph Bracken

Amos Jantjies and Luwellon Albridge hang up bokkoms in Velddrif, a small fishing town on the West Coast known as the “bokkom capital” of the world. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Tembeka Ngcukaitobi shakes hands with admirers at OR Tambo International Airport on his return from presenting South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee

An endangered conophytum stored at the the Richtersveld Desert Botanical Garden in Sendelingsdrif in the Northern Cape. The garden includes plants that have been taken from poachers and mining sites. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Learners with disabilities enjoy a sports day in Gugulethu. The event marked the start of Disability Rights Awareness Month. Photo: Sandiso Phaliso